Top 20 Tales from Mathnawi Rumi - Paperback

by Vahdat Torabi (Author)

The story displays an integral part of the cultural heritage of human societies and, like a mirror reflects the values of a nation as well. Furthermore, through research in stories, we can realize the cultural relations of the people. According to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Marzolph, Iran, from the earliest times, as a vital connecting link between the ancient Indian culture and, Mediterranean valuable cultures, was known to the science's world and, universally recognized and appreciated in academic communities. Iran is an excellent source of the story, telling literature.Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (30 September 1207 - 17 December 1273) depicts in his valuable work, Mathnawi, from the beginning of the first volume to the end of the sixth volume, throughout creates stories and allegories. Although Rumi believes that story is like a bowl and, the meaning of the story is like grains in that.The quotation is clear that the bowl doesn't matter much, so what matters are the grains inside the bowl. This expression realized in the two beautiful stories "The Repentance of Nasooh" and "The One-hand Dervish."On the other hand, most of the stories of Mathnawi introduce the Sufi's theocratic concepts and opinions, or they are marvelous interpretations of the universe of Sufism. Though in the appearance of them, such as "The Prince and the Dervish's Daughter" or "The King and the Slave-girl" they are understandable and interpretable.The Mathnawi has many short stories and, except the apparent meaning, they also contain secret and hidden meanings. For example in "The Elephant in the Dark Room" and, "Conflict over Grape" there are deep meanings in them. Occasionally, in these short stories, there are also humorous points. For instance, "The Deaf Man and the Ill Neighbor" or "The Cat and the Meat." So, to the reader himself detecting the meanings of each story is given and, the conclusion what said at the end of stories is the translator's impressions.The Mathnawi is the most prolific period of Rumi's life because he was more than 50 years old when he started writing it. The significance of Mathnawi isn't only because it is one of the most important literary works of the cultural heritage of Iran, but the reason is that has freedom messages for modern misguided humanity. Rumi said, "I did not create Mathnawi for carrying it, but to stand on it and, so you can reach the top of the sky "Rumi in the last decade quickly became widely and universally known as an intellectual and spiritual leader in the West. The translations of his works became the most popular book of the year in the USA. In 2001, Coleman Bryan Barks's translation sold more than 500,000 copies in the United States of America. Deepak Chopra was inspired and influenced by the poetry of Rumi, preferred a few superstars to sing them, such as Goldie Hawn, Demi Moore, Debra Winger, Martin Sheen, and Madonna. Eventually, someone who succeeded in doing this was Madonna. She has selected the poem Bittersweet. It showed up on the 1998 collection "A Gift of Love."